The Basketball That Didn't Do The Trick
by kisescryingface
Summary: Aomine Daiki has a crush on fellow student model, Kise Ryouta. One day, he threw a basketball onto his head to get his attention. Chaos ensue.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: ****Hitting on the Model**

_Author's note:_

_This will be an AoKise fanfic filled with a lethal combination of crack and fluff. For once, I wanted to see Aomine do the chasing._

* * *

"Thanks Murasakicchi! I'll bring you those snacks that I promised tomorrow morning—" exclaims the bright, cheerful blonde to the massive, purple-haired giant who looked nothing like the average middle school student outside of their classroom before they parted ways through the crowded corridor packed with students. It was lunchtime rush hour and Murasakibara Atsushi only nodded in response to Kise Ryouta who has already gotten far ahead through the crowd of hungry students before he disappeared around the staircase.

Murasakibara grunted with annoyance at the students who were pushing against him when he caught sight of Aomine Daiki just a short distance away gawking at him.

"Mine-chin— Are we having basketball practice over lunchtime again? Did Aka-chin send you to get me?" he asked the ace of their basketball team.

"No— I— Were you just being friendly with **_the_** Kise Ryouta just now?" Aomine asked in awe.

"Kise-chin? He sits right behind me in class. I just lent him my Math notes since we're having a test tomorrow morning. He has been missing out on the last few lessons due to his modelling job—"

"That— That's **_amazing_**… He's already working while the rest of us are still stuck with the boring school stuff…"

"Uh— Mine-chin? You're not turning into one of his **_fangirls_** are you?" he teased Aomine.

"**_Hell no!_** Umm— Of course everybody knows him since he stands out so much around here! And… And Satsuki couldn't stop talking about him lately! It... It's driving me crazy!" Aomine responded back in embarrassment at Murasakibara's remark.

"I didn't know that Sa-chin is the type to keep up with celebrities… She's always so serious and stuff…"

"It's Satsuki I tell you! She just could not shut up about him! I just wanted to get a better look at this guy that everyone has been fawning over lately. But now that I just saw him, he looks pretty **_normal_** to me. I don't understand the hype at all," said Aomine in a flustered manner before he ran off in the opposite direction without any warning at all.

"I see…" mumbles Murasakibara to himself in amusement with Aomine's sudden outburst.

* * *

"Argghhh— What did I just say to him—" Aomine mumbles to himself in frustration as he finally reached his destination. The school gym has always been his favourite place to let off some steam and clear his head by shooting basketball hoops on his own whenever he was free. He wasn't feeling hungry anyway after he had opened the bento lunchbox that Momoi had prepared for him that morning and lost all of his appetite at the disaster presented before him. The food that she makes has all the potential to be classified as a biological weapon and end innocent lives. Sometimes he wondered if Momoi made them on purpose just to spite him for the cruel things he had done to her in the past as they grew up together as childhood best friends. She will get mad at him when he refused the meal she had tediously prepared for him and on the days that Aomine decided to stomach the food, he will get sick during basketball practice and she will get mad at him **_again_**. What was he supposed to do?

Aomine wasn't the type to take the things going on around him seriously. All he cared about was the sight of big boobs and basketball. He was more into basketball for now since he is currently a first string player for the school's basketball club. The school's basketball team has gotten much stronger this year despite having strange regulars such as a purple snack monster, a green horoscope junkie, a grey jerk, a red-eyed spawn of the devil but he was alright with it as long as they kept winning tournaments. Oh right, there's also that new regular whom he kept forgetting about too due to his lack of presence.

His academic record isn't anything to be proud of but it was good enough to not hold him back for another school year and allow him to keep participating in sports activities. He has no ambition at all and still has no idea on what he wants to do later on in life. He hated growing up and he missed the good old times when he could do anything he ever wanted. Street basketball, catching crayfish, throwing frogs at Momoi… Now it's all about listening attentively in class, doing homework, passing class tests and surviving the gruelling basketball practice regime on a daily basis courtesy of the new captain for the school basketball team, Akashi Seijuurou. He shuddered at the thought of Akashi making it to captain while he was still a second-year student and being able to shoulder such a huge responsibility among all the other things that he could do.

Then there's this new matter that has been bothering him lately… The student model Kise Ryouta… He wondered if Murasakibara had caught his bluff about Momoi being the one who was fangirling over Kise. Murasakibara was definitely spot-on about Momoi not being the type of person who was into celebrities. Hell, he wasn't too until… Kise became the new face for an international sports brand marketing campaign. Aomine had been waiting for the new edition of basketball shoes from that particular brand and when it finally came out, Kise happened to be the one modelling it. For some reason that he could not fathom, his interest in the shoes had slowly shifted to the face wearing the shoes in a pretty disturbing way.

Just a couple of days back, the whole school erupted over the news of one of their students being chosen as the lead model for an international sports brand marketing campaign. He had no interest in such news and took no part in the buzz going on around the school until he overheard a group of girls in his class gushing over Kise. They had mentioned the word "Hyperdunk" and Aomine was suddenly all over them. He had completely forgotten about the launch date of the shoes and upon hearing that the girls had a picture of the shoes that he had not even seen yet, he had to dunk right into the middle of their discussion.

"Where? Can I see the picture? What's the price tag like?" Aomine asked the group of girls ignoring the death glares of a couple of the girls who were annoyed with his sudden intrusion.

"I didn't know Aomine-kun is a fan of Kise-kun—"

"Hmmph, who cares about some pretty boy model? I've been waiting for these shoes for ages— I need to see if they looked as good as I imagined them to be!"

"Huh? But everyone **_adores_** Kise-kun! We're lucky to be studying in the same school with a popular local celebrity!"

"Picture. **_Now_**."

"Grr— Here… Be careful with it. Don't smudge the page. I'm going to get Kise-kun's autograph after this," said the leader of the group as she pushed an open magazine towards Aomine.

Aomine couldn't believe what he had just set his sights upon. He has always been used to seeing a sports print ad. It would usually be some sweaty guy sporting some kind of cool sports gear and that's where all the focus should be. But at that moment, he was presented with something different. Something that he would have not expected from a huge and highly respected sports brand.

There on their desk is a magazine with a full-page print ad of Kise sitting seductively on the floor with just a basketball covering his nether regions. His only outfit being only the basketball shoes. **_If you could even call that an outfit._** Aomine's jaw dropped as he stared at the print ad and was only snapped out of his stalled thought process from the shrilling scream of a girl who had just joined the group.

"KYYYAAAA— It's so bold and daring for Kise-kun to do this!" shrieks the loud girl as she started to fan herself with both her hands. "Do you think the school is okay with this? He's practically **_naked_** in that picture!"

"This is what they call tasteful nudity in the modelling industry— It's highly accepted everywhere," said a bespectacled girl who spoke as if she was a know-it-all. "The brand did hint a while back that they will be launching a massive marketing campaign that will send hearts **_racing_**. Now I know what they meant by that. They definitely scored big with this one! Everyone is talking about it! Even the other print ads looked amazing!"

"Uh— **_Other_** print ads? Are they related to basketball?" Aomine asked sheepishly surprising the group of girls who had completely forgotten about Aomine's presence in their circle.

"I don't know— I've only seen this one for basketball but there could be more coming soon. I saw two full-page print ads from a men's fitness magazine my brother bought yesterday. One has Kise-kun sporting a waterproof sports watch as he climbed out of the swimming pool and the other one has him playing tennis on the court wearing the brand's latest tennis shoes. Not naked unfortunately but he was still **_shirtless_** though," squeals the bespectacled girl.

"Why didn't you bring that magazine to school!" screams the other girls in unison.

"It was my brother's! Anyway, I also heard that Kise-kun will be having a short interview on one of the talk shows tonight about his experience on being selected to front this campaign! We should all watch that!"

That very same night, Aomine ate dinner in front of his TV as he waited for the airing of the talk show with the two magazines containing Kise's print ads sitting comfortably right next to him.

* * *

"Aomine-kun is certainly on fire today. Those freshmen didn't even have a chance to score at all."

"Huuhh? Tetsu-kun! Stop showing up all of a sudden like that!" Momoi exclaimed in surprise at the light blue-haired, ghost player for the basketball team.

"I have been sitting on this bench before you even got here Momoi-san…"

"But— Uh— Just greet me first so I will know that you're around okay? Your surprise attacks aren't good for my fragile heart!" pouts Momoi.

"Ah— Sorry. You were staring intensely at Aomine-kun so I wanted to ease the tension a bit."

"Actually I was staring at his shoes. If he keeps playing hard like this, he'll wear them out by the end of the month. Sigh— I told him to get new ones but he said that he's still saving up his money for those new ones from Nike… I don't think he has half of that money yet and he has been saving his lunch money for months!" said Momoi in a worried tone.

"You should tell him that there are other cheaper brands… And they are just as functional."

"Dai-chan is very picky, Tetsu-kun. And stubborn too. If he wants those shoes, he'll get them eventually. Some way or another," said Momoi in frustration. "I just hope he gets them before the next district tournament or he'll be playing barefoot."

"When you said the new ones from Nike… Did you mean the Hyperdunk series? The one being modelled by that student model from the next class?"

"That's the one! Dai-chan even cut out the ad from the magazine and carried it around in his school file! He must be really into those shoes! Ah— He even pinned up the sports watch and tennis shoes print ad from the same brand in his room… I wonder if he's also saving up to buy a new watch... And try out a different sport..."

* * *

"Ah— The ball just slipped out from my hand—" said a bored Murasakibara as he simply watched the ball roll towards the gym's main entrance.

"You wouldn't have dropped it if you have paid more careful attention to what you're doing! Plus eating is forbidden in the gym! While we're practising too!" a frustrated Midorima Shintarou scolded Murasakibara.

"I'll get it—" Aomine said out loud as an excuse to get far away from the tension building between the two regulars.

The ball had come to a stop before it even reached the gym main entrance and just as Aomine bent down to pick it up, a familiar figure passing by just outside the gym caught his immediate attention. He looked up quickly and spotted Kise walking by without a care in the world, deep in his own thoughts with his schoolbag slung carelessly over his left shoulder. At one point, he even stifled a yawn as he strolled lazily towards the school's main gate.

Aomine could only stare at his back from a safe distance. **_As he had normally done in the past week._** Wouldn't it be nice if they could become friends? After all, they are both from the same year. Aomine could really use a new friend. Momoi was getting too stifling on him and the rest of the people in the basketball club are weirdos. If Murasakibara could carry out a decent conversation with Kise, Aomine didn't see any reason why he couldn't do the same. He had seen the way Kise interacted with the people who flocked around him and Kise had been nothing but polite. Based on his observations for the past week, Kise is a cheerful and friendly person who wouldn't easily hurt anyone's feelings.

It would have been weird if he had just called out to him since they were both never properly introduced to each other. He was about to give up and turn back into the gym when the basketball in his grip gave him an idea.

Kise may already be at a distance away from him now but Aomine could do a long shot just as good as Midorima, only less graceful. A stupid smile formed on his face as he played the scene perfectly in his head. Yes, the ball will hit the blonde's head, hopefully **_not too hard_** that it will knock him out unconscious but just enough to grab his attention for a second. Then Aomine will apologize non-stop for his carelessness and Kise will hand the ball back to him with a smile. Aomine would start a small conversation in which they will hit it off immediately. They would probably walk back home together after that and stop by the convenience store to buy some ice-cream. Kise will have to pay anyway since he has a lot of money and Aomine still needed to save up for his basketball shoes.

With just his right hand, he threw the basketball directly onto that perfect blonde head and hit his target in a swift manner.

"OUCH—" the blonde yelled out in agony as soon as the ball landed on his precious head.

"Ah— Sorry! My… If it isn't the famous and popular Kise-kun—" Aomine barely finished his sentence when he felt the basketball that he had just thrown slam back painfully into his face.

"So what? How could you call yourself a basketball player when you can't even shoot it in the right direction?" he snapped back rudely at a shocked Aomine.

"Err— I— I didn't mean—"

"What if you hurt my face? I have a photo shoot scheduled at the studio in about an hour!"

"I'm sor—" Aomine didn't even have a chance to complete his apology as he helplessly watched Kise stomp off angrily towards the school gate leaving him in the cold.

* * *

Murasakibara almost choked on his chocolate bar as he giggled at the scene playing before him. Seeing a speechless Aomine who had turned into stone outside the gym was _**priceless**_.

"You let that ball slip on purpose didn't you Atsushi?" Akashi's voice boomed behind him.

"Huh? Ah— Kind of. I saw Kise-chin passing by and thought that if the ball had rolled in front of him, he'll pick it up and come into the gym to watch us play. But it didn't really go the way I imagined."

"Did you think that student is fit to join our team? Our regulars are already strong enough. It might be too late for a second-year to join us now."

"I don't know… Actually, I only did that because I wanted to tease Mine-chin for a bit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: ****Building a Bridge**

"What the hell just happened back there?" Aomine thought desperately to himself as he splashed cold water onto his face repeatedly from the open sink behind the gym. The act gave little comfort to him and made him feel even worse.

"Dai-chan! What are you doing? You'll catch a cold like this!" Momoi called out to him as she rushed towards him with a couple of dry towels in her arms. "Did something happen?"

"Satsuki— No— It's nothing…"

"Murasakibara-kun told me to check up on you! He said something bad just happened to you! What did he mean by that?" she asked while she vigorously wiped Aomine's head dry.

"I… Just wanted to be friends with him… Kise-kun… From the next class… He's quite _**mean**_."

"Huh? When did you talk to him?"

"Just now… I threw a basketball at his head… And he snapped back angrily at me!"

"Dai-channnnn— What's **_really_** going on? Did you just try to **_hit_** on him?"

"Huh? I didn't say anything like that! What makes you think so?"

"Pfftt— I've known you for wayyyy **_too long_**— You always pull off this trick every time you're trying to hit on a girl you like. You would **_purposely_** roll the ball towards her so that she'll pick it up for you and then you'll try to impress her with your flashy basketball moves! **_Please._** This is a stone age tactic on how to attract the attention of the opposite sex. You really need to come up with something new and more creative," Momoi laughed as she taunts her miserable childhood friend.

"How dare you say that to me Satsuki!"

Momoi threw both towels onto Aomine's face and walked back to the gym still laughing heartily at him.

"Maybe you shouldn't have thrown the ball onto his head but let it roll towards him instead like you would have normally done," a chilling voice spoke out next to Aomine.

"Gahh— Tetsu! I hate it when you do that!"

"I saw the whole thing Aomine-kun. It must have been tough on you."

"Uhh— There were a lot of other students in the school compound! What if **_someone else_** picked up the ball?"

"So you were _**targetting**_ Kise-kun."

* * *

"Ouch— Please be gentle. Some idiot threw a basketball onto my head a while ago and that spot still feels sore," Kise said to the hairstylist. "Is it bleeding back there?"

"I don't see anything Kise-kun," the hairstylist replied as she ran her fingers through Kise's hair to apply even more hair wax. "Not even a bump."

"If there's nothing external, I could be bleeding internally then. I… I don't feel so good… Why does it feel so cold all of a sudden in this room? But I'm sweating… My vision is getting… Darker…"

"Oh Kise-kun. You're making such a big deal out of a small incident. The boy threw a basketball at you, not a planet. You'll be fine—" the hairstylist barely finished her sentence when Kise fell abruptly to his side and would have crashed on the floor if he wasn't quickly caught by a makeup artist working not too far away from them.

"Somebody get **_help_**! Kise-kun just collapsed!" the hairstylist called out frantically to the people working around in the studio.

* * *

The next day at school, the entire student population were talking about Kise's absence due to his sudden admission into the hospital after collapsing at his workplace.

Aomine was sweating buckets as he sat still on his desk trying to gather whatever information he can accumulate from trying to make out what the group of girls a couple of desks away from him were talking about with regards to Kise.

"I heard that he suffered a major brain bleed and required an emergency operation!"

"Oh noooo! Did they have to shave off his beautiful golden locks?"

"No, no! That's not what I heard! It was only a mild brain injury! They are just keeping him at the hospital for observation! So we don't have to worry!"

"Poor Kise-kun! How did this happen to him?"

"Did he have an accident at his workplace?"

"My sister works as a hairstylist at that studio! She said that Kise-kun was telling her about how his head was hurting pretty bad from being hit by a basketball before he collapsed! That must be the reason!"

"Oh my God! Then it's true what I've been hearing from the first-years! One of them saw a guy from the basketball team threw a basketball onto Kise's head **_on purpose_**!"

"That's so _**cruel**_! What a coward! I didn't know that Kise-kun has **_haters_** at this school! I thought that everybody **_loved_** him!"

"I bet that basketball player is **_jealous_** of Kise-kun's popularity!"

Aomine stood up immediately from his seat and decided that he was going to go to the nurse's office to pretend that he was sick. Actually, he was already feeling sick from hearing all the blame going around on the poor basketball player who didn't mean any harm in the first place.

* * *

Aomine was awakened suddenly from his nap in the nurse's office when he felt the dreaded feeling of being watched by something terrifying. Through his sleepy eyes, he scanned the cubicle for anyone else who could be in there with him when he locked eyes with a set of fiery red eyes that belonged to... **_Akashi._**

"I see that you have finally woken up Daiki... Have you been hiding in here because you are aware of a witch hunt for you out there? I'm not kidding… There's a good chance that you will be burnt on a stake if they can find you by the end of the day."

"Uh— I… I didn't mean to hurt him! I didn't even think I threw the ball **_that hard_** at him!"

"Your words mean nothing to me. A few students saw what you did to Ryouta yesterday so it was only a matter of time before somebody could identify you as the main culprit. Since the witnesses saw you did it on purpose, they assumed that it was done purely out of malice," said Akashi. "After everything I have done to lift the reputation of the basketball team to great heights, you ruined all my hard work through such a stupid act of recklessness. You have thrown the school team into bad light. Since I am responsible for the actions of my team members, the headmaster has already called me this morning to ask why one of my players is bullying another student that the school is extremely proud of."

"I… I just wanted to be _**friends**_ with him!"

Akashi only frowned at the answer given to him. But knowing Aomine's level of intelligence, he knew that Aomine is incapable of lying to him.

"Why can't you start with a less lethal 'hello'?"

"I… I don't know! I _**swear**_ I didn't mean to cause him any harm! Is he okay? Did he really have to undergo major brain surgery?"

"Actually, I don't know. Nobody really knew how he's doing at the moment. Not even the headmaster. Since he has tasked me to deal with this problem, I have decided that **_you_** clear this mess yourself. Because of your actions, most of the other students are assuming that the basketball club is made up of a bunch of vicious bullies," he said dangerously. "I have obtained permission for you to leave the school premises and apologize to Ryouta in person at the hospital. There's a bounty for your head anyway so it will be safer for you to not be in school right now."

* * *

Aomine was shaking nervously as he stepped foot in the hospital lobby tightly holding a large bouquet of purple hyacinths. Taking a deep breath in, he walked over to the two ladies who were seated at the reception counter to ask them in which room Kise is currently staying in.

"Kise-kun? Uh— Your name is? May we know why you need to visit the patient?"

"My name is Aomine Daiki! We— We go to the same school together! I'm just here to check up on him!" Aomine answered the receptionist nervously.

"Ah— Unfortunately, if your name is not on our list of visitors who are allowed to see the patient, we can't give you any information…" the first lady looked at him suspiciously. "Listen, it's not just you. We have been turning away **_a lot_** of people who has come to visit Kise-kun ever since he was admitted into our hospital yesterday afternoon. It's something to do with his… **_Security._** While we can't let you see him, we could definitely make sure that he gets those **_lovely_** flowers that you brought for him," she continued winking at Aomine.

"The flowers are not my idea! Murasakibara made me buy these! I just wanted to see him and tell him that I'm**_ sorry_** for **_hurting_** him!"

"Haiii— **_Young love is so adorable_**—" the other receptionist quips in. "You must have given a lot of thought into the flowers too since you're clearly trying to send him a message. Purple hyacinths means 'I'm truly sorry and forgive me'. Most people wouldn't know that and assumed that **_any_** flowers would do as a get-well-soon gift to a patient. The other day I even saw a visitor bring in funeral flowers because he thinks they smelled wonderful. The patient he visited died that very same day."

"There has been a number of people of claiming to be his acquaintances or family relatives coming in to visit him but we didn't let them in if they are unable to give us a positive ID that matches any of the names listed here. The last thing we want is to let a stalker into his room. You seemed like a genuine guy— If you could convince us that you're his school friend, we might be able to let you in," said the first receptionist.

"Give Kise-kun a call! Maybe he just forgot to include your name on our list!" said the other receptionist.

"I… I don't have his number…" Aomine replied sadly. "And I'm not really his friend…"

"Oh— Then we're very sorry that we can't help you Aomine-kun… Why don't you write down your name and contact details on this piece of paper to go along with the flowers? At least he'll know who brought them here! I'll send them to Kise-kun right now since we don't want these fresh flowers to go to waste!" said the second receptionist.

Aomine scribbled his name and contact number on the piece of paper provided to him before releasing the flowers to the friendly receptionist who immediately took off to send the flowers to Kise on Aomine's behalf. After thanking the other receptionist for being kind to him, he left the hospital with a heavy heart.

* * *

"Shouldn't I be resting right now? Why do I need to sign all these 'thank you' cards? There's just too many of them!" Kise complained to his manager who was sitting beside his bed flipping through a magazine while snacking on a red apple.

"You don't stop signing those until we're sure that you have already thanked **_all_** the people who had sent those get-well-soon gifts for you!" snaps the manager back at him as she lightly hit his head with the magazine. "We wouldn't have gotten into this situation if you had not collapsed at the studio yesterday from **_hunger_** and **_exhaustion_**! Did you know that we have to re-schedule the whole thing? We have to incur a lot of unnecessary expenses to re-do the photo shoot over this weekend since your pictures are wanted by Monday! We're lucky that our clients did not have anything bad to say about your unprofessionalism! And the attention from the media is a pain to deal with too!"

"But— It's another _**stupid**_ shirtless photo shoot! Do you know how much pressure those shoots put on me? I had to have a light breakfast that morning and then during lunch time, all the meals were sold out at the school canteen! I had to stay back for **_extra_** classes because I have missed a lot of lessons lately that I ended up not being able to find much time to eat between leaving the school and getting to the studio!"

"You need to stop complaining Kise-kun. A lot of models would kill to have what you're doing right now. The agency has high hopes for you which is why I have been specially assigned to manage your work. I don't normally look after new talent—"

"Kise-kun, these flowers just came for you—" the receptionist from the hospital lobby interrupted the manager's lecture.

"Ugghh— Another card to sign—"

His manager threw him a dirty look for his remark causing Kise to hastily get his act together as he carried on signing the rest of the 'thank you' cards on his lap.

"Would you like to hold this? They smell wonderful—" the receptionist said.

"No thank you— Just place it over at that corner. If there's any space left. Maybe I should quit modelling and open a florist shop selling all these flowers that I had received—" Kise joked before his manager smacked his head again with the magazine in her hand.

"He said that he goes to the same school as you— And that he was sorry for hurting you," the receptionist continued just as she was about to leave the room.

"Sorry for what? Who is it from?" Kise asked curiously.

"Aomine Daiki."

"I— Don't know who that is…"

"Can I take a closer look at those flowers? At least somebody finally brought something different from the usual red roses or a giant teddy bear," the manager smirked.

The receptionist hurriedly picked up the purple flowers from the flower pile in the corner of the room and handed them over to Kise's manager before she excused herself to leave them both alone.

"So… How did he hurt you?" the manager teased Kise.

"Huh? I don't know what you mean."

"She said that your friend was apologizing over something. What did he do?"

"He's not my friend since I've never heard of that name before in my entire life!"

The manager gave up trying to win an argument against Kise. The young boy can be a handful sometimes and she had better things to do than babysit a spoilt brat. After giving a stern warning to Kise to not stir up any more trouble now that he's a famous face in the public domain, she left the room so Kise could finally have some peace.

* * *

Kise was feeling grumpy about being treated like a child by his manager. He had felt much better after having a good night's sleep. When he woke up that morning, he had not recognized the room that he was in before his fuming manager barged into the room with his breakfast meal and ordered him to finish it. He later found out that he had collapsed at the studio the day before because he was too weak from running around on an empty stomach coupled with exhaustion from the lack of sleep due to the late night work commitments over the past week ever since he signed a contract to endorse an international sports brand.

He was glad that he could finally have some private time to himself. He hated being around people but he also hated not having people around him. He just can't win either way. Suddenly, the room felt too big and quiet for him.

Kise has to admit that juggling school and his modelling job had not been easy. His manager had suggested that he took a break from school and concentrate on building his modelling career but his parents were against it and insisted that Kise should finish high school at least. It had been his sisters' idea to send a photo of him to a modelling agency just for laughs a year back but he ended up getting signed by the agency much to their surprise. Kise wasn't keen on the idea at first but his sisters persuaded him to try it out because they loved seeing him all dressed up and he thought that it would make for good work experience anyway. The good earnings was also a bonus for him.

Kise sat up straight on his bed and was about to pick up one of the magazines that his manager had left lying around next to him when he noticed the purple flowers that his manager was checking out earlier. She had left them on the chair and it was giving off a strong, sweet scent. Kise was tempted to pick it up and throw it onto the mountain of flowers that he had received from well-wishers when it hit him that there's a possibility that the sender of the purple flowers could be the guy who had mistaken his head as a basketball hoop. That was the only person whom Kise felt had the need to apologize to him recently but then again, Kise hadn't been nice to that guy too as he recalled the look of surprise on his face when Kise reacted harshly at him. Kise sighed thinking about how his manager will give him an earful if she found out that he had yelled at a guy over a small incident. Keeping up an image as a fresh and innocent up-and-coming model can be hard work too. It's not that Kise isn't a very nice person but dealing with people can be a tasking thing to do especially when he had to deal with a lot of strangers who only wanted to get near him because of his good looks and status. It came to a point when Kise no longer knew who he could trust other than his family and his manager who only wanted the best for him despite her bitchy attitude.

Kise was getting bored being on his own now and his thoughts ran back to the basketball player from the day before. He didn't look to be the type who would go this far just to apologize over an accident and he seemed to be the kind of person whom Kise might be able to get along with. Kise already knew another basketball player, Murasakibara who sits in front of him in class and he liked him.

Grabbing the phone on his bedside, he called up the reception counter to get a detailed description of the sender of the purple flowers.

* * *

"Spring might come early this year," Aomine thought to himself as he walked past a tree that looked slightly revived from the previous harsh winter. Even the weather has become mild recently.

He stopped just outside a shoe store as he stared longingly at his dream shoes placed on top of the window display. He sighed in utter disappointment when he caught sight of the hefty ¥14,000 price tag. He had been saving up his lunch money for almost 3 months now and had only reached a measly amount of ¥9,000. He would have been able to save up the required sum in another month's time if he hadn't been unlucky enough to run into Murasakibara that morning and took one of his **_bright_** ideas.

Just as Aomine was about to leave the school compound after receiving the ultimatum from Akashi, he saw Murasakibara waiting for him by the school gate.

"Murasakibara? You're not going to throw me under the bus of angry fangirls are you? How much is my head worth by the way?"

"Nah— I'm **_nothing _**like those people. I heard that you'll be visiting Kise-chin today— So I thought that I'll suggest something to you—"

"Suggest what?"

"**_Flowers._**"

"Hahh? He's not a girl you know! Why do I need to give him flowers?"

"Because sick people get better quickly when their visitors bring them nice flowers— You want him to get better right?"

"Uh—"

"The old lady running the florist shop across the hospital is a family relative of mine— I told her that you might want to pick up flowers to visit a sick friend. If you go to her shop, she'll give you a discount," said Murasakibara. "**_Trust me._** She'll take care of everything—"

Aomine wished he had not blindly taken Muraskibara's suggestion without doing some sort of research on how much fresh flowers would **_cost_**. When Aomine walked into the florist shop, the old lady that Murasakibara had mentioned was insistent that he buy a bunch of purple hyacinths for Kise. Aomine went along with her recommendation and could only stare in horror when she rang the cash register at ¥8,000. He was going to make a run for it but he succumbed to the pressure from the hard-selling old lady in the end. Now he was left with ¥1,000 in his wallet and completely far off from getting his new shoes anytime soon.

Nothing seemed to be going well for Aomine and he decided that he might as well skip school for the day. He can deal with Akashi and the angry mob of Kise's supporters tomorrow.

Just as he was about to walk into a convenience store, his phone buzzed with an unknown number on its display. Aomine answered the call without giving much thought to it and it turned out to be one of the hospital receptionists telling him that Kise had just informed them that Aomine could come visit him anytime that day.

Aomine didn't quite know what just happened but ran back to the hospital as fast as he could anyway.

* * *

Kise didn't know what made him tell the receptionist that Aomine's name can be included into the list of people who are allowed to see him. He didn't even _**know**_ that guy. But then again, that name list was made by his manager and Kise wanted to have his say on who gets on the list too! When he spoke to the receptionist regarding the sender of the purple flowers, her description perfectly matched the basketball player that Kise had in mind.

Kise began to feel guilty for being rude to him as he started to recall the previous day's events. His manager has always advised him to be nice to his fans, regardless of who they are. The last thing he wanted was the guy to spread the news about his mean personality in school. Not like he even cared what others thought of him but being in an industry where he can only get far based on the number of people liking him, it's just an obvious thing to take note of. His manager would have killed him too for ruining his squeaky-clean image. He finally decided that he was over-thinking too much about the whole thing like he always does and thought that Aomine would probably not show up when the door to his room slammed opened to reveal a breathless, tanned guy with short-cropped hair wearing the Teikou Junior High school uniform.

"Ah— Sorry! I forgot to knock!"

"Err— Sure… Have a seat Aomine-kun. Thanks for coming to visit me."

"Are you okay? Did you really crack your skull? Is it true that you underwent a major brain operation?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I— I threw that basketball at you and you collapsed not long after! I'm responsible for you being here aren't I?"

"… Aomine-kun. Please sit down," Kise ordered feeling slightly worried with the restless boy's outburst. "And calm down."

"You could have **_died_**! And I would be doing a **_life_** sentence in prison for **_unintentional manslaughter_**!"

"Aomin—"

"They might as well just put me on the electric chair!"

"Aomine-kun!" Kise finally yelled out loud to immediately silence the former.

Aomine froze upon seeing Kise's annoyance and finally sat down on the chair next to Kise's bed, avoiding the intense glare directed at him. He shifted around uncomfortably in his seat and was only capable of looking down at the floor nervously because the awkward silence in the room was too much for him.

"If this is about you making my head a target practice, I'm over it. I'm sorry if I reacted badly to you too yesterday," Kise apologized much to Aomine's surprise.

"Huh? But I thought that it was that hit that caused **_this_**?"

"Me being here? Hahaha," Kise giggled. "Was that what made you skip school to come and see me? I'm feeling much better now after filling up my stomach and sleeping it off. Work has been taking a toll on me lately and then there's school too— I actually collapsed at my workplace because I haven't had anything to eat the whole day. I should be discharged later in the afternoon—"

"Wha— That's it? So it wasn't me? But **_everyone_** is blaming me for putting you in here!"

"Ah— Probably because the last thing I said to one of my colleagues was about getting hit by a basketball on my way to work… It must have been the hairstylist. She has always been quite a gossip. I remembered that she has a younger sister that goes to the same school as us too. That's probably how the news spread," said Kise. "Did they really say that the doctors had to drill into my head to save my life?"

"It pretty much sounded like that," Aomine mumbled with a sigh of relief. "I guess Akashi has no reason to shorten my lifespan anymore."

"Akashi?"

"The captain of the basketball team. I'm a first string player for the school team! Are you in any sports club?"

"No… I don't have time for extra-curricular activities due to my work."

"Ah right— Modelling. I saw the ad that you did for those new shoes— Uh— **_You look amazi_**— I mean the **_shoes_** look great! No— Wait— **_You_** made the**_ shoes_** look **_amazing_**!"

"Which one? I've done a few recently."

"The basketball ones."

"Huh?" Kise blushed. "The… Basketball ones? That was my worst take! I wasn't very comfortable at all posing in that picture! The photo shoot lasted longer than it should because I wasn't able to give them a good picture… My manager was furious at me…"

"Really? I didn't notice at all! You're definitely a professional model! I thought that you wore the shoes really well! It made me want to run to the stores immediately to buy them! Ah— Except that I still don't have enough money to buy them yet," Aomine grumbled.

"I get to keep **_all_** the shoes that I modelled for! But… It doesn't seem like we have the same shoe size. I could have given them to you but they won't be able to fit you at all," said Kise staring down at Aomine's school shoes. "My sisters would always complain about how I have more shoes than they do but it's not like I could help it… I usually get these things as freebies due to the nature of my job—"

Aomine could only gag in envy at Kise's revelation.

"Must be nice… Being a model."

"It's tiring. And hard work."

"I bet the money is good too."

"I guess…"

"I still have to depend on my parents. I could only save money from the lunch money given to me for school. But now I've just hit rock bottom after buying those flowers for you. If I have known that you already have a forest in here, I wouldn't have gotten them at all," Aomine pointed out to the flowers stacked on top of each other in the corner of the room.

"… I do like the ones that you got me. They're different from the ones that I'm used to getting… I'm sorry that it had to cost you…" Kise said in a remorseful voice.

"Ah! No! I didn't mean like that—"

"Why don't you get a part-time job?"

"The school doesn't allow its students to take part-time jobs. Although you seem to be a special exception. Do you think that I have a chance to be a model like you too?" Aomine asked eagerly.

"… No. I don't think so," Kise replied dashing Aomine's hopes almost immediately.

"Then I'll probably have to wait for a few more months to save the money for those shoes…"

"How much do you get from your parents?"

"¥200 per day as lunch money on school days since I don't bring a bento from home... I would normally keep the money and just grab some food from Tetsu. If I'm really desperate, I'll just eat the bento Satsuki prepared for me—" Aomine shuddered at the thought of Momoi's dreadful cooking.

"That's going to take a while…"

"Haii— Nothing I could do about it…"

"Hmm… Aomine-kun… How would you like to earn money by working for me?"

"Huh? Work for you? What am I supposed to do?"

"For ¥1,000 per day, you can be my **_slave_**— I mean, ah— **_Assistant_**!"

"¥1,000 per day? That's a week's worth of my lunch money! I can get those shoes within 2 weeks' time then!" exclaims Aomine in pure excitement. "Oh, why would you need an assistant?"

"Isn't it **_obvious_** Aomine-kun? A person like me can't do **_everything_** on my own! There's school and there's also my modelling job! I could use all the help that I can get!"

"Right— That does make sense— I will do **_anything_** you ask me to Kise-kun!"

"Good! You're **_hired_**! You can start tomorrow!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: ****Master and Slave**

"Please remove that stupid grin from your face Aomine-kun. You're ruining my appetite," said Midorima out loud echoing the exact same thoughts running through the minds of all the people who are seated on the same table in the school canteen.

"Huh? Wha— I don't know what you're talking about!" Aomine snaps back at Midorima.

"You have been acting very strangely since this morning. For starters, you were carrying Kise-kun's schoolbag and textbooks whenever he had to change classes. Both of you are not even from the same class! Don't you have your own classes to worry about?" Midorima said sternly. "Our final exams are coming soon and if you screw this one up, you would be held back for another year and banned from all extra-curricular activities! Akashi-kun will not be happy if you can't play during our tournaments!"

"I know that! It's just that… I have an **_important_** job now," he revealed with the same stupid grin on his face.

"You? A job?" shrugs Midorima. "You do know the school policy regarding students taking part-time work right? It's_** forbidden**_! Unless you're a special exception like Kise-kun, you are not allowed to be working while studying!"

"I am working **_for_** Kise! So I guess those school regulations don't apply anymore since I'll be working under **_him_**! The special exception should cover me too don't you think?"

"Kise-chin gave you a job?" a surprised Murasakibara asked. "As what?"

"His **_personal assistant_**!"

"His **_slave_** you mean," mumbles Kuroko sipping his drink.

"Noooo! I'm being serious here! Kise has employed me—" Aomine started choking on the prawn tempura in his mouth when Akashi joined the table with his lunch tray.

"Daiki, I'm glad that you have finally sorted out that mess with Ryouta. I even saw the both of you walking together between classes this morning so did the 'hello' work?" asked Akashi.

"_**Much better**_— He just employed me as his personal assistant! I will get paid ¥1,000 per day! Like who gets that on a daily basis?"

"I do. I get that exact amount of money from my father before I leave for school every morning. I also have a college fund set up—"

"Gah— Akashi! You're on a whole different level! Don't compare yourself to us **_peasants_**! If you consider yourself to be such a supreme being, why do you even bother hanging out with us?" Aomine snidely remarks to Akashi.

"In feudal Japan, the Emperor would disguise himself as a commoner so he can leave his palace during times of boredom and blend in with the peasants to listen to all their hardships so—"

"Are you calling us peasants?" exclaims Aomine with horror.

"I believe **_you_** called us peasants_** first**_," Kuroko mumbled again.

"Mine-chin… What are your **_other_** job responsibilities? Aside from carrying things and following him around like a lost puppy—" Murasakibara asked with genuine interest.

"Uh— I just started today so I still don't know what he has planned for me… But he did say something about helping him out with his homework—"

"Shouldn't you warn Kise-kun beforehand that you're an _**idiot**_?" said Kuroko.

"I'll figure something out when the time comes! Oh, there's also the matter with next Wednesday. He said that I have to be his bodyguard!"

"What happens next Wednesday?" Midorima asked curiously.

"It's Valentine's Day. People like Kise-kun will be buried in a mountain of chocolates from boys and girls alike trying to declare their eternal love for him. His popularity has gone through the roof recently so I predict the likelihood of a mass hysteria occurring on that day," Kuroko explained. "You might want to re-consider that bodyguard job Aomine-kun. You could get _**killed**_."

"Are you sure about that Tetsu? I didn't really ask any questions when he said that to me—"

"Ryouta has successfully turned you into his **_slave_**. I **_like_** him already. Maybe I should get to know him too seeing that we have very similar personalities," said an impressed Akashi.

"Uggh— I'm not going to stay here anymore listening to you guys **_demean_** me— I'm better off finding Kise to see if there is anything else that he needs me for—" Aomine announced as he picked up his lunch tray and moved along.

"He's an **_idiot_**," muttered Midorima with annoyance.

"An idiot in **_love_**," Murasakibara added.

* * *

Kise was taking a nap on the school rooftop when the sound of footsteps approaching him and a looming shadow cast over him woke him up.

"Hmm? Who—" a sleepy Kise called out to the intruder.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were asleep here! Your classmates said that you'll be up here so—"

Kise slowly got up to sit and stretched himself before he looked up at his new slave **_slash_** personal assistant.

"Aomine—cchi… I was just trying to catch some shut-eye… Before my manager picks me up from school for another photo shoot later on in the day…"

"I… I'm sorry that I've disturbed you! I just wanted to know if you need me for anything else today!" said a flustered Aomine.

"Wah— Aominecchi really takes his job seriously huh? I wish I have the same amount of motivation with my own work—" said Kise with a yawn. "Let me think… Since I'll be heading to work straight from school, could you bring my schoolbag back to my apartment? It's only a fashion photo shoot for a magazine so I shouldn't be gone for very long. Think you can prepare dinner while you're at my place?"

"Your place? I don't know—"

"I'll leave my schoolbag in my locker so just grab it whenever you have the time. Ah! I just remembered that I'm on cleaning duty today too! I will feel bad if I just let the other students do the work even though I already have an excuse to leave early so… Can you take my place for cleaning duty too? For now— I just want to take a nap. Lunch break ends in half hour but I have a free period after… Ah— Can you lend me your lap Aominecchi? The floor is very hard and uncomfortable to sleep on. And shield me from the sun will you? The sun rays are not good for my fair complexion—"

"Huhh? Ah— Sure Kise!"

* * *

"Eh— Isn't that Dai-chan over there? Did he save us a spot? I think he's waving at us to go there!" exclaims Momoi when she walked through the door on the school rooftop with the other members of the basketball team.

"I don't think so, Momoi-san. I think he's waving at us to **_stay away_** from him… And Kise-kun," said Kuroko.

"Let's go somewhere else where we can't see that idiot. I don't think I can concentrate during the meeting with him around my sight," said Midorima.

"We could go to the library— I'll message Aka-chin then about the change of location because Mine-chin has reserved this whole place for his own selfish needs. Should I bother messaging Haizaki too? He never comes to our basketball meetings," said Murasakibara.

"Just send him a text too whether he wants to come or not," Midorima answered. "I'm guessing Aomine-kun will not be attending the meeting too seeing that he's anchored to that spot until sleeping beauty wakes up."

* * *

Aomine was relieved to see his teammates turn away and leave the rooftop. Momoi had mentioned something about a basketball meeting earlier that morning but he had completely forgotten about it until he saw them again. It didn't matter whether he attended the meetings or not. He never really had anything useful to contribute and Momoi can always fill him in with the details later on.

The day was bright and sunny but the air around him was still chilly as if not all of winter has left yet. He had been staying still for the past half an hour as Kise lay peacefully on his lap and he was starting to get leg cramps. He's dying to move a little bit to ease his discomfort but he didn't want to risk waking up Kise from his slumber. Kise had only been discharged from the hospital the day beforehand but he was already attending school today. He can't blame Kise for still wanting to catch a break when he found a chance to do so. His leg cramps were starting to bother him and he finally gave in to it. He moved both his legs slightly and braced himself for Kise's awakening but nothing happened at all.

"Such long eyelashes—" Aomine thought to himself as he carefully observed Kise's sleeping face. He could understand why anybody would want to be near Kise. He was defenceless at that very moment as he lay on Aomine's lap but he could still look so radiant and peaceful without even trying at all. He can't help but stare as even the light sounds of Kise breathing from his slightly open mouth mesmerized him.

Aomine couldn't believe his luck that he is **_finally _**friends with Kise. **_The _**Kise Ryouta. The only other time he would feel this fired up is when he meets an equally strong opponent on the basketball court. But even that has not happened for a long time. He has mixed feelings on why he is so drawn to Kise but it didn't matter at all because he has all the time in the world to figure that out. Being this close to him is already good enough.

The leg cramps were coming back but Aomine felt that he could bear with it for a while longer as he grinned at himself when he thought of the unexpected turn of events in the past couple of days. He finally has another reason to look forward to coming to school other than basketball. He was too busy congratulating himself in his mind that he did not even notice Kise open his eyes for a brief moment and then pretended to still be asleep as he didn't want to disturb Aomine's happy thoughts, whatever it is all about.

* * *

"Uwah— He lives here?" Aomine stared in awe at the large private apartment building just a couple of train stops away from the school.

He was even more impressed when he finally entered Kise's 3-bedroom apartment unit. It has a huge living room with a kitchen that was almost the same size and upon inspecting the other rooms, he saw that one of the bedrooms has been turned into a walk-in closet. Kise wasn't kidding about having a large shoe collection but it was the amount of clothes that he has that made Aomine feel like a pauper.

After dropping Kise's schoolbag in his bedroom, he headed to the kitchen to find out what he can use to make dinner. Honestly, Aomine has no experience with cooking other than pouring hot water into a cup of instant noodles but he didn't think he can do any worse than Momoi. He has had some experience with working in the kitchen when his mom forced him to help her out but they were only limited to setting up the dinner table or washing the dishes. But it still shouldn't be **_that hard_**.

After laying out all the food items that he could find in the kitchen, he was confused on what to do next. He finally decided that maybe some friendly advice wouldn't hurt as he dialled Momoi's number and placed the phone on speaker.

"Oi Satsuki! Help me out here! I need to make dinner!"

"Why don't you just come over to my house next door? I'm making dinner right now with my mom."

"I'm not at home. I'm somewhere else but you don't need to come here. Just tell me what to do. Uh— I have eggs, rice, mackerel, sugar, salt, soya sauce, broccoli, carrots, miso paste, dried seaweed and shitake mushrooms. What can I do with them?"

"Hmm— You can make fried rice! Just fry them all in a pan!"

"Ah thanks— How long do they need to stay in the pan?"

"A few minutes would do. Bon appétit Dai-chan—"

Aomine hung up on Momoi and was determined that he could get it all done before Kise comes back from work.

* * *

Aomine didn't know what he was doing wrong. The rice is hard and the dish as a whole was too salty. He had quickly disposed off the first batch but the second one wasn't any different. He was starting to panic because he was taking longer than he had expected and Kise was supposed to arrive back home any second now.

"I'm home! Aominecchi! Is dinner ready? I'm starving!"

Aomine jumped up in surprise because he had not heard the door open and tried his best to hide his failed cooking attempt by throwing the apron onto the frying pan.

"Uh— Wait! It's not done yet! I think I need to redo this dish!"

Kise started laughing hard when he saw what Aomine was trying to hide.

"Aominecchi! You're making fried rice aren't you?"

"Yeah… I don't know why the rice is still hard…"

"That's because you need to cook the rice before you fry it! Have you never cooked rice before? I guess not—" Kise teased a red-faced Aomine.

"Cook the rice? That… Didn't cross my mind. Arrghh—"

"You're supposed to cut the carrot into thin slices and not put the whole thing in… The mackerel needs defrosting too since it has been in the freezer for a while. What a complicated dish you're trying to make here— You didn't have to put **_everything_** you found in the kitchen into the frying pan…"

"Damn— It sounded very easy when Satsuki gave me the cooking instructions! I didn't expect it to be this difficult! I'm so sorry Kise but you'll have to wait a bit longer for dinner. I'm going to start all over again—"

"No— I think **_you_** should have a break. It seems that you have been working in the kitchen for quite some time. Let me do this. I know how to cook fried rice! It won't take me long— Oh wait— We have to cook the rice first."

"I'll do it!" Aomine started to scoop 2 cups of rice into the rice cooker.

"Err— You need to wash the rice first."

"Huh? Ah— Okay? Do I need to wash it with the dish soap?"

"Never mind Aominecchi… Just let me do everything **_myself_**."

* * *

Kise had depended on him to prepare dinner and he has _**failed**_ miserably. The only thing that he could do was set the table and sat in silence as he watched Kise busied himself in the kitchen to make dinner for the **_both_** of them. He can't blame Kise if he decides to fire Aomine on his first day of work. No such thing happened though.

"You like it Aominecchi?" Kise asked in amusement as he watched Aomine grab a second serving.

"Yeah— This is good! Is there anything you can't do?"

"Hehe— Well, I have a lot of practice since I'm currently living on my own," said Kise. "There are a lot of women in my family… There's my mom and my two older sisters so I get dragged into the kitchen quite often to help them out—"

"Do they live here too? Because… This place looks quite empty and nobody was here when I came in."

"We have our own home but it's quite far from here. This place was offered to me because it's right between the school and the agency. My agency is covering its monthly rent. I only go home during special occasions. And my sisters visit me pretty often so I don't feel homesick at all."

"You're so brave to be living out on your own! Unlike the rest of us who are still leeching off our parents—"

"You'll get the chance to experience this in the future Aominecchi—" grins Kise. "Hey, you can keep the key I gave you. That's just a spare. I'll take it back when you no longer work for me. Feel free to drop by anytime you like. The other bedroom is available if you want to use it."

"Are you sure? I don't really have any reason to be here— Oi Kise… Aren't you a bit too trusting of strangers? We only just knew each other yesterday…"

"You don't seem like a threat to me so... Uh— I… I don't have any friends… So it feels good to have Aominecchi around!"

"You have no friends? That's _**impossible**_! You _**never**_ have a moment alone at school with all those people flocking around you!"

"Fans and friends are not the same thing Aominecchi…"

"I see… I can't be staying long tonight though. My parents might get worried… But I'll definitely come by again!"

Aomine's remark brought a smile to Kise's face. It was a seemingly new experience for Kise to finally be able to interact with someone of his age ever since he started work at the same time he entered junior high. It was also a comforting feeling to finally let go of his usual rehearsed face and speech that he gives to all his fans. For once, he finally knows how it feels like to be a normal junior high school student rather than a working top model.

* * *

"Dai-chan! Midorima is complaining about how you have been slacking off on basketball practice lately!"

"Tell him to mind his own business. Akashi isn't complaining at all since I am still whooping everyone's ass. As long as we kept winning, I don't see why a few missed practice sessions would matter at all," Aomine shrugs at Momoi as they were walking together to their next class.

"But… This… **_Thing_** with Kise-kun has been taking up **_a lot_** of your time! You haven't been hanging out with the rest of the guys too!"

"If I have to pick between Kise and those crazies, I'd rather be hanging out with Kise—Nothing good ever happens when I hang out with those guys! Midorima and Murasakibara are often at each other's throats over something stupid. Akashi is always looking for a reason to cut someone. Kuroko drops in and out without any warning—"

"Really? I never noticed," said Kuroko out of the blue.

"Gah— See what I mean Satsuki?"

"Momoi-san is just worried about you Aomine-kun. As it looks at the moment, Kise might as well put a dog leash on you and you would obediently get down on all fours."

"Oh that's such a **_hot_** image Tetsu-kun! I didn't know you have such an imagination for kinks like that—" squeals Momoi.

"Does he whip you at his apartment when you're there to do the household chores?"

"Kyyyaaaaaaa— Tetsu-kun!"

* * *

"Grr— Aomine-kun left early from practice again," grumbles Midorima.

"He said that he has to do Kise-chin's laundry," said Murasakibara. "Mine-chin makes a good **_housewife_**."

"As long as he helps us win future tournaments, I have no complaints Shintarou," said Akashi.

"But… That's just not how it should be! All of us have to put the same equal effort with the practice sessions!"

"One of them will eventually get bored and release the other from the game. I'm putting all my bets on Ryouta…"

"Huh? Why would you say that Aka-chin?"

"Because we both have **_similar_** personalities and I could **_see_** the future."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: ****Feast of Saint Valentine**

_Author's note:_

_I'm going to start referring to Kise's manager as 'Ishihara-san' (after the awesome manager in Samurai Flamenco) since she's going to turn up pretty often._

* * *

"You should have consulted with me first before you decided to take in your own personal bodyguard Kise-kun," said Kise's manager in a grim manner. "Is he a trained professional? Have you done the necessary background checks on him? Does this have anything to do with the hate mail that you have been receiving recently? Get used to it Kise-kun. Not everyone is going to fall in love with you once you're in this business," she rambled on as she snapped her fingers at a couple of workers carrying a mountain of chocolate goodies and ordered them to just leave them on the dining table in Kise's apartment.

"The agency won't be paying him. **_I will._** Out of my own pocket money too. So I don't see what's wrong with it."

"It's **_my_** job to make sure that you're in the company of people who can be trusted Kise-kun! A lot of people will take advantage of you in this industry so you need to watch your back at all times! Since you're in the spotlight right now, there's already a bunch of people eagerly waiting for a chance to grab your spot!" Ishihara warned him. "Which security company did you hire this Aomine-kun from by the way?"

"He's not a real security guard… He's uh… Someone from school," whispered Kise under his breath as he braced himself for Ishihara to scream at him again.

"WHAT? You hired some kid to be your bodyguard? What the hell are you thinking Kise-kun?!" she yelled furiously at him.

"It's _**fine**_ Ishihara-san! He's practically harmless! I won't be hiring him for long anyway! Just until I get bored of having him do things for me!"

"Kise-kun! You're actually **_risking_** your good public image by making some random kid from your school an errand boy! You need to stop this! Right now! Or else—" she was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the apartment.

"I'm here Kise— Huh? It has begun already? We haven't even left the apartment yet!" exclaims Aomine in surprise when he saw the mountain of chocolates stacked on the dining table before he came to realize that there was someone else in the apartment aside from them. "Oh sorry, I didn't know you have a visitor."

"Aominecchi— Meet my manager, Ishihara-san. She looks after my work affairs," Kise nervously tried to introduce the two.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Aomine Daiki! Kise's personal assistant!"

"Personal assistant?" remarked Ishihara sarcastically while ignoring the look of annoyance on Kise's face. "Fine. I'm out of here. We'll talk about this another time Kise-kun," she said before slamming the door behind her.

"She doesn't seem to like me…"

"Forget about her Aominecchi. She was only here to drop the chocolates that arrived this morning at the agency. They didn't have much space to keep them around so she sent most of them over here. She'll probably be back with more of them later in the day," said a tired Kise. "Should I just call in sick for school?"

"You think I can't protect you from those girls Kise? Watch me!" said Aomine brimming with confidence.

* * *

Getting to class was a breeze for Kise as Aomine made the ultimate sacrifice of fending off the school girls who were waiting for him with chocolates in hand at the school gate. All Aomine had to do was tell them off to stay away from Kise before they started clawing and strangling Aomine. In the midst of the chaos, Kise found a safe passage to make a run for the classroom where he was in much safer territory.

"Is Mine-chin still alive?" Murasakibara turned back from his seat to face Kise.

"I… I hope so. It was a big crowd. There were even girls from other schools this time. Fortunately, they can't go further than the school gate."

"Maybe I should be your bodyguard too. I heard that Mine-chin is paid well."

"He needed the money to buy new basketball shoes. He'll probably quit after that."

"What if he doesn't want to quit?"

"Why wouldn't he? I'm sure that by now he's fed up with the mundane tasks I gave him. I'm only doing this because I'm **_bored_**," said Kise.

* * *

"Dai-chan! Did you get any chocolates yet?"

"No— Where's mine?" Aomine stretched his hand out to Momoi.

"Hmmph— I thought you **_hated_** the chocolates that I gave you every year?" Momoi folded her arms and pouted.

"Because you **_made_** them! Did you even taste it before you plan to give it out to people? They are hard as rocks!" Aomine replied. "Come on Satsuki. Just hand it to me now. It's starting to look sad that I haven't gotten any chocolates at all since this morning—" Aomine begged.

"You'll need to wait till home economics class after lunch break since the teacher will be teaching us on how to make chocolates anyway. I'll make some for you and Tetsu-kun then. I was planning to do it last night but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Maybe I'll have better luck later on."

"Gah— I have to wait? I didn't get any at all last year! Other than from you... Is there something wrong with me Satsuki? Why don't girls like me? I was pretty popular before junior high you know—"

"Maybe you have more competition here? Despite being a weirdo, Midorima-kun is still popular with the girls. Some girls also found Muraskibara-kun to be cute when he is munching on his sweet snacks. There's also Akashi-kun…" said Momoi dreamily. "He comes from a distinguished family background and being the captain of the basketball team, he has his own admirers too. You probably rank the lowest in terms of appeal within the basketball team."

"Huh? Least appealing one? Shouldn't I be above Tetsu and Haizaki?"

"Above Tetsu-kun? No way! How dare you say that! Tetsu-kun is smart, kind, caring, charming, a true gentleman and so much more that you will never be! With Haizaki-kun, he has that bad boy factor which is a turn-on to some girls," said Momoi. "Then outside of the basketball team regulars... There's Kise-kun! Almost all the girls that I know are giving him chocolates this year. You'll probably have a lot to carry back to his place. If you ever need a hand, just let me know!"

* * *

**_From:  
Ishihara-san_**

**_This is another warning Kise-kun. Stop playing games just because you're bored. This will not end well and I don't want to be the one having to clean up the mess you started in the first place._**

Kise rolled his eyes at the message he had just received from his manager and turned his attention back to Murasakibara who was trying to help him out with a Math question that he was struggling with during their free period when Aomine barged into their classroom.

"Aomine Daiki reporting for duty! Do you need me for anything else Kise? I have a free period now!" he announced his arrival proudly.

"Aominecchi—" Kise laughed heartily. "No— Oh yes, maybe. Could you check my locker and help me clear it if there are any chocolates in there?"

"Understood!" said Aomine with a salute.

"You're such an idiot Mine-chin…" Murasakibara mumbled. "Oh Kise-chin, if you can't finish those chocolates, I could eat them for you," he suggested.

"I'll need to ask my manager first if I can give them away... Didn't you get any chocolates Murasakicchi?"

"Only three boxes so far—"

"What? You get chocolates too Murasakibara?" said a horrified Aomine.

"Of course Mine-chin. What about you? How many have you gotten already?"

"Uh— I— I—" stammers Aomine feeling ashamed with himself for not receiving any yet.

"Bet it's from the **_same_** person every year. How dull—" Murasakibara teased Aomine.

"Shut up Murasakibara!" Aomine snapped at him before he quickly left the classroom with a flushed face.

"Same person?" Kise asked intrigued.

"Yeah— Mine-chin only receives chocolates from Sa-chin every year—"

"Sa-chin?" Kise asked again.

"Momoi Satsuki. She's our basketball team manager."

"Momoi Satsuki… Is she from our year?"

"Yeah. She's in the same class with Mine-chin too. They've been **_together_** for a **_long_** time."

"Uh— Are you saying that this Momoi-san is… Aominecchi's girlfriend?"

Murasakibara was about to explain the 'childhood friends' dynamics between Aomine and Momoi when he decided to mess around with Kise's head for a bit after seeing the look of curiosity and worry start to form on Kise's pretty face.

"Hmmm— It's kind of difficult to say... They are definitely close. They usually come to school and leave together too... Sa-chin also joined the basketball team because of Mine-chin," said Murasakibara. "Oh, do you know about Mine-chin's preference for girls with big boobs? Sa-chin happened to have big boobs too—"

"…"

"Of course they have been spending less time with each other lately because Mine-chin is busy working for Kise-chin—"

* * *

"Is it ready Satsuki?" asked Aomine as he looked over Momoi's shoulder.

"It's a mess! It looks horrible!" Momoi wailed out loud for the whole class to hear.

"Momoi-san, it's because you are heating the chocolate at the wrong temperature," said the home economics teacher who came to her workstation after hearing her cry for help. "And Aomine-kun, why are you here? Are you done with yours?"

"Yeah— I left it on that table to cool—" Aomine pointed out to his proud creation.

"That blob? Redo the whole thing Aomine-kun! Just because you don't get assessed in home economics class doesn't mean that you can just not take what we do here seriously and make anything you want!"

"Eh— What a hassle— Why do we have to make chocolates today anyway?"

"Because it's **_Valentine's Day_**. Chocolates work well with today's theme! Doesn't Aomine-kun want to give chocolates to a girl that he likes?"

"Nope," replied Aomine stubbornly.

"Go back to your workstation and start making something **_decent_**! I won't let you leave this class until you can come up with an acceptable piece of work," ordered the teacher furiously.

* * *

"Long pink hair… And big boobs just the way Mine-chin likes them," Murasakibara's words echoed in a repetitive manner in Kise's head.

He didn't know why the conversation he just had with Murasakibara bothered him but it did. Aomine had sometimes referred to 'Satsuki' during their conversations but Kise had never given any thought to it up until now. Upon learning the girl's full name, he was even more surprised to find that Aomine was on a first-name basis with the girl.

"They look so cute together—" Murasakibara's voice crept into his thoughts.

"Uggh— What's wrong with me?" Kise slapped himself lightly. "Why does it matter if Aominecchi has a girlfriend or not?" he thought again in frustration through gritted teeth.

His rushed steps came to a sudden stop when he realized that he was currently standing right outside the school gym. He was able to hear loud cheering and the sound of basketball shoes squeaking against the slick wooden floor. Out of curiosity, he decided to take a peek inside and upon seeing an opportunity to slip in, he did so swiftly and made his way to a seat way at the back of all the other spectators in the gym. As soon as he sat down comfortably, he quickly figured out that he was watching a tournament between the school team and another team from a neighbouring school. He immediately spotted Aomine playing on the basketball court with Murasakibara but he didn't recognize any of the other players. His attention shifted towards a pink-haired girl clutching a clipboard close to her busty chest with a serious look on her face as she watched the tournament. She stood out a lot as she sat with the other basketball players warming the bench.

After feeling like an idiot from being threatened by a girl that he doesn't even know, he turned back his attention towards the court. He remembered that Aomine had mentioned that he played as a regular but Kise thought nothing of it as he was also good in a number of sports himself and didn't see why being in a sports team is even worth boasting about. But upon watching Aomine play, he found himself sucked into the game as he watched Aomine make moves that he couldn't possibly be able to pull off himself. He overheard the murmurs among the audience of how strong the Teikou basketball team has become lately citing that the team only threw in two first-string players, Aomine and Murasakibara, while the others are random picks but already the scores showed Teikou leading with almost a 30-point difference.

The match finally ended with the obvious when Teikou was crowned the winner. The loud cheers in the gym carried on even louder than before while Kise only sat back in silence as he observed the Teikou basketball players congratulating one another over the win. That was also the first time he saw how **_happy_** Aomine is, an expression that appeared to be forced whenever he was around Kise. Most of the time, Aomine had the expression of a scared puppy whenever he was around Kise which he found to be **_cute_** but seeing Aomine enjoy himself after a good tournament stirred mixed feelings within him. He was then drawn to the interaction between Aomine and Momoi where the latter was wiping his head with a towel while scolding him over something that he couldn't quite make out. He had never seen Aomine this close to someone else and it made him feel a bit **_jealous_** for some reason.

Being born with naturally good looks and charisma has always helped Kise a lot ever since he could remember. He was used to get anything he wanted without much effort at all and ever since he was thrown into the limelight, he started to like being in the centre of attention. Of course, he had thrown in some hard work on his part to remain where he is that there were also times when he would start getting paranoid over losing the things that he had gained up till now. Aomine was one of those things. It was already hard enough making friends when he started junior high and modelling at about the same time the previous year. He had been struggling to find balance between school and work with the latter taking a heavier toll on him. This year wasn't much different and he felt that work was starting to get too much for him that he couldn't care less about trying to make it in school anymore but then he met Aomine. The friendship did come with a price but it was also a convenient arrangement for Kise because it meant severing ties will be much easier if the time calls for it. It was selfish of him to think that Aomine should be more attentive to him but since he was **_paid _**for it, Aomine really had no other choice. Seeing Aomine with other commitments of his own annoyed the hell out of him.

The basketball team was still around for a final briefing while most of the spectators have already left the gym so Kise slowly made his way towards them.

"Aominecchi!" Kise called out cheerfully interrupting the discussion among the basketball players.

"Kise? What are you doing here? Did you watch the match?" said a surprised Aomine.

"I did— You were very good Aominecchi! Anyway, are you going to walk me home now?"

"Now? Ahh— I promised Satsuki that I'll go to the mall with her—"

"… Fine then. Have **_fun_**," Kise replied quickly as he turned his back to Aomine hoping that the latter had not seen the dejected look on his face.

"Oi Kise! Kise! Why are you angry—" Aomine called out to no avail as Kise was out of sight within mere seconds.

"It's happening sooner than I expected—" said Akashi watching the scene unfold before him.

"Don't be too full of yourself just yet Aka-chin. They're still warming up to each other," Murasakibara rebuked the proud captain.

* * *

Kise was **_mad_**. He was practically fuming inside from the feeling of complete and utter betrayal. Behind the smile that he plastered back onto his face as he faced the public once more, he was feeling a bit hurt from being rejected so easily. This was a new experience for Kise. He was not used to rejections. Most people would have jumped through hoops set in fire to do any of Kise's demands. But for probably the first time, Aomine of all people had just refused a blatant order from him just so he could spend some time with some silly girl. He would have thought that having paid Aomine for his time, he should have placed Kise as top priority over everything else. But he finally lost out to some other girl. What was Aomine thinking anyway? Its junior high school so there's absolutely no need to get serious with a girl since this is the perfect age for them to just fool around.

When he opened his locker, he ignored a few chocolates that fell out from the pile that was left in there from his fans as he grabbed his schoolbag hastily so he could head back home to cool down his bad mood.

Being angry is a tiring feeling as Kise found out when he fell asleep as soon as he dropped himself onto his bed. It wasn't until he heard a faint knock on his bedroom door and he woke up to darkness surrounding him that he realized that it was already late in the evening.

"Aominecchi?" he rubbed his eyes tiredly as he swung open his bedroom door.

"I thought you were not home since the place was so quiet but then I saw your shoes— I just brought over all the chocolates as you have requested! There's not much space on the table or anywhere else now!"

Kise looked around his apartment to see the chocolates arranged neatly in brown paper bags placed on the dining room table, the coffee table in front of the TV and the surrounding floor. Even the chocolates brought over by his manager earlier that morning has been arranged in an organized manner.

"You did all these by yourself?" an impressed Kise asked.

"I had some help actually," Aomine grinned proudly. "Satsuki helped me packed everything into those paper bags since I couldn't figure out how to carry everything back to your place without dropping them all over the place on my way here. She even helped me carry them all here—"

"She **_came_** here?"

"Yeah— She just left actually— She lent me a hand because I couldn't possibly carry everything in one trip! I would have been forced to make two trips back and forth the school if I were to do this myself—"

"Aominecchi! That isn't my problem at all! You allowed a **_stranger_** into my place?"

"Huh? Satsuki isn't just any stranger. She's my fri—"

"What if she told someone where I lived? There's a reason why I don't live with my family and kept my current address a secret! Last year, I had fans waiting outside my family home on almost a daily basis and they even harassed my family just so they could get a glimpse of me!"

"There's nothing to worry Kise! Satsuki won't tell anyone! She's not like that—"

"How would you know? Because you have both been together since forever?" Kise said sarcastically.

"Kise—"

"I'm **_upset_** Aominecchi. You could have at least asked me first before making stupid decisions of your own! I hope you have not been misusing that spare key I had given you. I'll never forgive you if you bring stupid bitches into my place to fool around!"

"What? I—" Aomine exclaimed in shock.

"Go home Aominecchi. I have had **_enough_** of you misusing your privileges while working for me," he waved weakly at the other without sparing a glance at him.

* * *

The look of hurt and surprise on Aomine's face was well worth it. He didn't even try to defend himself as he left the apartment without a single word almost immediately. The mean streak in Kise was getting the best of him but sometimes, inflicting pain onto someone else is the only solution to relieving your own pain. It's like passing over your anger to someone else so they could carry it for you instead.

It felt like a huge burden has just been released as Kise stomped into the kitchen to find food to fill up his empty stomach. How dare Aomine let another girl into his apartment and start speaking fondly about her? What was Kise supposed to do? Congratulate him? He should have known better than to do the things that he just did. Didn't he realize that giving Kise his full attention came with the job description? Kise wondered if he should have fired Aomine right then on the spot since he didn't actually have a need for him at all. Kise had not expected Aomine to take his joke about being his personal assistant seriously but it happened anyway and Kise had to play along with it. It would not have been a huge loss if Aomine no longer worked for him. He couldn't care less if Aomine was going to spread the news about his true colours to everyone else at school. It would only be his word against Kise's and more people would have chosen to be on Kise's side seeing that he had the more innocent-looking face between the two.

"I'll give it another week or two— Just enough time till he get those damn shoes," he thought to himself as he looked for something that he could eat in the refrigerator. "Damn, I should have asked him to pick up some dinner on the way here. I'm too tired to make something up. Uggh—"

Kise gave up on a proper dinner and decided to rummage through his chocolate goodies for something edible among them to get him through the night. All the chocolates looked tempting but he remembered Ishihara's warning about being careful about consuming any of the chocolates given by his fans. He decided that the homemade chocolates were risky and resorted to check out the branded chocolates that he was familiar with instead. Filtering through them was tasking so he was slightly thankful to Aomine and his girlfriend for organizing them neatly for him beforehand. These were the most chocolates he had ever received in his lifetime too seeing that it coincides with his peaking popularity. He even came across hate mail with chocolates branded 'quick death for you' on it which amused him to no end that someone who hated him so much would use up his own precious time just to tell him that. Ishihara was right, not everyone was going to like him but it still needed some getting used to since he was more used to people fawning over him.

When he finally picked the ones that he was willing to eat, he dropped himself on the plush sofa in the living room when he noticed a small navy blue box on the coffee table in front of the TV. He wondered why it wasn't in a paper bag like all the others when he noticed that the box had a note underneath it. Kise slowly picked up the box and read the note that came with it.

**_Made these during home economics. The teacher was impressed and I thought they tasted pretty good too. Would be a shame to throw them away so Satsuki helped me find a box to keep them in for you. I promise you they aren't poisoned._**

**_Daiki_**

Kise stared hard and long at Aomine's ugly handwriting before he lifted the lid on the box and placed a piece of weirdly-shaped chocolate into his mouth. He had tasted better chocolates but the ones Aomine made weren't actually that bad.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: ****Hot and Cold**

He couldn't understand Kise's behaviour at all. He could easily switch from being all sunshine and rainbows to an intense brewing storm within seconds. What bothered him the most was that he seemed to be the only person who is seeing this other side of Kise.

It was their usual morning walk to school and he was throwing all of his grievances onto Momoi who was unfazed at most to his troubles.

"You're just over-reacting Dai-chan. There is no way that Kise is capable of doing all the things that you have just mentioned," she said without any interest at all.

"How could you say that? You weren't even there! He practically yelled at me to **_get lost_**!"

"Still not buying it," she shook her head in disagreement. "He probably just told you to go home but you made it sound like he just asked you to **_drop dead_**."

"Why would I be making up stuff about Kise? This isn't the first time too! Remember when I told you about the way he lashed out at me when I threw that basketball at him the first time we met?"

"If you had thrown a basketball onto my head, I would have screamed at you too!"

"Aominecchi—" a familiar voice rang out from behind them. When they turned their backs, they saw Kise who seemed to be in good spirits waving at them both to slow down so he could catch up with them.

"Good morning Kise-kun!" Momoi greeted the blonde cheerfully.

"Good morning— Momoi Satsuki right?" Kise grinned at the pink-haired girl.

"You— You know my name!" Momoi blushed and bowed her head down with embarrassment while she elbowed Aomine's side.

"Ouch— What the hell Satsuki?" Aomine complained at the unexpected blow to this side.

"I should try to get to know Aominecchi's friends too since we have been spending a lot of time with each other. Will it be okay if we all walk to school together?" he asked innocently.

"No problem! It's good to see that Dai-chan is finally of **_use_** to someone!" she remarked excitedly.

Aomine rolled his eyes at Momoi's sudden change in behaviour. It was awfully rare of her to be reduced into a buttery mess like this but he was less worried of her as he glanced silently at Kise who seemed to show no reaction at all after the incident from the previous night.

* * *

After being rid of Momoi who had to see a teacher in the staff room first, Aomine finally turned his attention to Kise.

"Kise… Uh— About last night…"

"Thank you for the chocolates. They were good Aominecchi!" he smiled brightly at him.

"That— Well— I think we need to talk."

"No time Aominecchi— I need to get to Math class now. Don't forget to take my bag home since I'll be working straight after school."

* * *

Despite their brief exchanges and the usual tasks that kept Aomine busy, everything seemed to be going as normal with Kise for the entire week and Aomine began to wonder if he had imagined the whole incident during Valentine's Day. Part of him was starting to get uncomfortable with Kise but the other part of him wanted to remain by his side for the sake of getting those new basketball shoes and it was that greedy side of him that triumphed in the end. It wouldn't be much longer till he reached the amount of money that he needed and he planned to quit by then.

Hopefully, Kise would still want to remain friends with him.


End file.
